Display rack



5, 1967 E. M. LEVY ETAL 3,335,874

DISPLAY RACK Filed Jan. 13, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invenfor EDWARD M. LEVY MORRIS H. SPANGLER a BY PERRY B. SWAN.

Aug. 15,- 1967 M. LEVY ETAL DISPLAY RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 15, 1966 Inventors EDWARD M. LEVY BY MORRIS H. SPANGLER a PERRY B. SWAN. W, fi/fl S.

United States Patent Office 3,335,874 DISPLAY RACK Edward M. Levy, Evanston, Morris H. Spangler, Streamwood, and Perry B. Swan, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Reflector Hardware Corporation, Melrose Park, Ill., a

corporation of Illinois Filed 'Jan. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 520,434 2 Claims. (Cl. 211-176) The present invention relates to display racks and particularly to a highly-improved display rack for books of a kind that may be ideally utilized in retail bookstores and in other places where books are maintained on display in substantial volume.

Book shelves and bookracks of the kind heretofore commonly used in bookstores and in other retail establishments where books are displayed have been, for the most part, of fixed construction, which have either been completely fabricated at the factory and shipped in assembled form to the retail establishment, or they have been built or constructed of wood or metal at the use site. In either case, the prior book display racks, when of sturdy construction, have been relatively expensive and have not been readily capable of easy variation or adjustment so as to accommodate books of varied sizes and shapes.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a highly-improved and inexpensive book display rack, for use in retail establishments and elsewhere, which is entirely versatile and adjustable for quick and easy adaptation for the display of books, and particularly books of the paperback type, of varied sizes and shapes. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a book display rack of the character just referred to, wherein books of a great variety of sizes may be displayed for dispensing purposes and wherein the display rack is comprised of a plurality of adjustable, identical, and fully-interchangeable, longitudinally-extending book shelves, each shelf being of trough-like configuration having an L-shaped lateral cross-section formed by first and second intersecting book-supporting walls, the two intersecting walls being of different depth and each having on its back side means by which the shelf may be removably mounted in position, wherein that wall extends generally in an upward direction, thereby providing support for the back of a stack of books, the bottoms of which rest on the other supporting wall. Still another object of the invention is to provide a book-display rack having all of the features hereinabove enumerated, wherein the individual shelves may be selectively mounted, so that their respective shorter book-supporting wall is disposed either in the upwardly-projecting direction or in the forwardlyprojecting direction so as to give adequate support for the back sides of books, depending upon the individual heights of the books.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a book-display rack of the foregoing character, the shelves of which may be installed and subsequently adjusted and readjusted as desired, quickly and easily and entirely without the use of tools.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a book display and supply rack constructed in accordance with the invention, the rack being of indeterminate length and being illustrated in broken fashion so as to represent that indeterminate length;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the uppermost portion of the rack of FIG. 1, taken from one end thereof; and

FIG. 3 is a greatly-enlarged fragmentary perspective 3,335,874 Patented Aug. 15, 1967 view of the rear portion of one of the shelves, illustrating the manner in which the shelves are removably secured to the outer or free ends of arms which are adjustably mounted on upright frame members.

Referring to the drawings, the bookrack there illustrated is comprised of a plurality of vertically-arranged upright frame members 10, the frame members being stationary and laterally spaced apart. Any suitable means may be provided for maintaining the upright frame members 10 in fixed position, and in the present drawings a base 11 is illustrated for that purpose, it being understood that the base may be of any suitable construction and that the upright frame members 10 may be mounted thereto in any suitable well-known way. Since the particular manner in which the upright frame members 10 are mounted in the base 11 forms no part of the present invention, and because there are a multitude of different Well-known ways in which this mounting may be accomplished, it is obvious that no such mounting means need here be shown or illustrated. The base 11 may be of any desired length appropriate for the store or place of business in which the rack is to be used, and the base supports a plurality of the upright frame members 10, the number thereof depending on the length desired for the rack. In FIG. 1, the base 11 and the remaining portions of the rack are broken away so as to illustrate that the rack is of indeterminate length.

Each of the upwardly-extending stationary frame members 10 is preferably of rectangular hollow construction having front and rear faces in which there are provided a plurality of longitudinally-extending aligned slots 12, there being two rows of the slots 12 in each face of each upright member 10. At selected intervals on the upright frame members 10, there are removably mounted outwardly-extending shelf-supporting arms 13. The inner end of each arm 13 is provided (see FIG. 2) with a pair of downwardly-extending hook-like elements 14 which are received through an adjacent pair of the openings 12 and are hooked over the lower edges of those openings so as to securely support the arm in a generally-horizontallyprojecting position. The various arms 13 may be arranged one above the other, as illustrated, for the purpose of supporting in adjusted positions the book shelves which will be described hereinafter, the particular vertical positioning of the arms 13 being determined by the relative vertical positions desired for the individual shelves.

The shelf-supporting arms 13 are preferably fabricated of metal, with their respective outer ends bent sideways to provide on each thereof a panel 13a (see FIG. 3) to which there is spot-welded or otherwise secured an upwardly-extending finger 15. This finger 15, in each instance, if desired, may be comprised of a length of sturdy strap steel.

The bookrack includes a plurality of book shelves designated generally by the numeral 16. The shelves 16 are preferably of identical construction, each being of V- shaped lateral cross-section formed by first and second intersecting book-supporting walls. In the drawings, the first book-supporting wall is designated by the numeral 17, and the other supporting wall is designated by the numeral 18, it being observed that the Wall 17 is of lesser depth than the wall 18, as measured from their line of intersection 19 to their respective outer edges. The Walls 17 and 18 are preferably formed of sheet metal and are integral along their line of intersection 19, and the free edges of the shelves are preferably roll-formed, as at 20, to provide rigidity and noninjurious outer edges. The shelves 16 may be of any desired length, and secured to the back sides of the book-supporting walls 17 and 18, at longitudinal intervals corresponding to the spacing between the upright frame members 10, there are fixedly secured, by spotwelding or the like, socket members 21 which respectively receive the fingers 15 which are secured to the outer end portions of the shelf support arms 13, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of the socket members 21 may be fabricated from heavy strap steel, and each may have the configuration shown in FIG. 3.

The book-supporting walls 17 and 18 of the shelves 15 are each provided, adjacent its outer rolled edge 20, with a row of equally-spaced-apart diamond-shaped perforations 22. These diamond-shaped perforations, for example, may be about one inch apart, and they provide means for receiving the opposite curved ends 23 of divider rods 24, it being understood that one end 23 of each divider rod 24 is received in a perforation 22 in one wall of a shelf 16, with the opposite curved end 23 of the divider rod being received in the corresponding perforation 22 in the other book-supporting wall of the shelf. It will also be understood that the divider rods 24 may quickly and easily be installed in the perforations 22 in any selected dividing position desired, depending upon how it is wished that the books be divided that are carried on the shelves.

With the construction just described, it will be seen that the individual shelves 16 may be raised or lowered relative to each other, so as to accommodate books of various sizes, simply by adjusting or moving the positions of the arms 13 on the upright frame members 10. It will also be seen that each individual book shelf 16 may be mounted on the outer ends of two or more shelf-supporting arms 13, either with the book-supporting wall 18 thereof. extending outwardly, as seen in the case of the two upper shelves in FIG. 2, or with the shorter book-supporting wall 17 extending in the outward direction, as seen in the case of the second level of book shelves illustrated in FIG. 2. This latter selectivity is an important characteristic having dual advantages. For example, if the books to be supported on a particular shelf 16 are of a short relative height, it will be desirable that that particular shelf be arranged in the fashion illustrated by the upper shelves in FIG. 2, wherein the short wall 17 extends upwardly for the support of the back of a stack of the short books. When the shelf is so arranged, the long or deep booksupporting surface 18 projects forwardly, thereby permitting more of the books to be stored in an upright position upon that shelf, as illustrated in FIG. 1 than would be the case if the shelf was provided with book-supporting walls 17 and 18 of equal length. Conversely, when it is desired that a shelf 16 support books of greater height, then shelf 16 is preferably arranged in the fashion illustrated by the second level of shelves in FIG. 2, wherein the longer or deeper walls 18 project upwardly to adequately support the backs of the books. The shelves in applicants bookrack, therefore, provide maximum efficiency, both in the support of the books and in the number of adequatelysupported books that may be installed on the shelves.

The foregoing description of one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been given for clarity of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations are intended thereby, for it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous additional variations, changes, and

modifications may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A display rack for books and the like, comprising a plurality of stationary, upright laterally spaced-apart frame members, a plurality of support arms, means for respectively securing said support arms in corresponding outwardly projecting positions on said frame members, an upstanding finger on the free end of each of said support arms, a plurality of book shelves, each of said book shelves being of longitudinally extending trough-like configuration having an L-shaped lateral cross-section formed by first and second intersecting book-supporting walls, one of said book-supporting walls of each said shelf having a greater dimension than the other as measured from the line of intersection of said walls to their respective outer edges, and sockets on the back side of each of said walls adapted to be removably and interchangeably received upon said upstanding fingers on said free ends of said support arms, thereby providing selective mounting of each of said book shelves on said support arms in either of two positions wherein said first and second booksupporting walls are interchangeably disposed.

2. A display rack for books and the like, comprising a plurality of stationary, upright laterally spaced-apart frame members, a plurality of support arms, means for respectively securing said support arms in corresponding outwardly projecting positions on said frame members, a plurality of book shelves, each of said book shelves being of longitudinally extending trough-like configuration having an L-shaped lateral cross-section formed by first and second intersecting book-supporting walls, one of said book-supporting walls of each said shelf having a greater dimension than the other as measured from the line of intersection of said walls to their respective outer edges, attachment means on the back side of each of said walls adapted interchangeably to be secured to the free ends of said support arms, thereby providing selective mounting of each of said book shelves on said support arms in either of two positions wherein said first and second book-supporting walls may be interchangeably disposed, each of said book-supporting walls having a longitudinally-extending row of openings therein adjacent its outer edge, and a plurality of book-dividing rods adjustably mounted on said shelves with the opposite ends of said rods in selected ones of said openings;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 945,280 1/ 1910 Lindberg 248-242 2,710,051 6/ 1955 Greenberg 1086 3,067,882 11/1962 Ribbens et a1 108--102 3,149,727 9/ 1964 Magers 211148 3,244,127 4/ 1966 Evans 108--108 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A DISPLAY RACK FOR BOOKS AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF STATIONARY, UPRIGHT LATERALLY SPACED-APART FRAME MEMBERS, A PLURALITY OF SUPPORT ARMS, MEANS FOR RESPECTIVELY SECURING SAID SUPPORT ARMS IN CORRESPONDING OUTWARDLY PROJECTING POSITIONS ON SAID FRAME MEMBERS, AN UPSTANDING FINGER ON THE FREE END OF EACH OF SAID SUPPORT ARMS, A PLURALITY OF BOOK SHELVES, EACH OF SAID BOOK SHELVES BEING OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING TROUGH-LIKE CONFIGURATION HAVING AN L-SHAPED LATERAL CROSS-SECTION FORMED BY FIRST AND SECOND INTERSECTING BOOK-SUPPORTING WALLS, ONE OF SAID BOOK-SUPPORTING WALLS OF EACH SAID SHELF HAVING A GREATER DIMENSION THAN THE OTHER AS MEASURED FROM THE LINE OF INTERSECTION OF SAID WALLS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OUTER EDGES, AND SOCKETS ON THE BACK SIDE OF EACH OF SAID WALLS ADAPTED TO BE REMOVABLY AND INTERCHANGEABLY RECEIVED UPON SAID UPSTANDING FINGERS ON SAID FREE ENDS OF SAID SUPPORT ARMS, THEREBY PROVIDING SELECTIVE MOUNTING OF EACH OF SAID BOOK SHELVES ON SAID SUPPORT ARMS IN EITHER OF TWO POSITIONS WHEREIN SAID FIRST AND SECOND BOOKSUPPORTING WALLS ARE INTERCHANGEABLY DISPOSED. 